The End of the Journey
by PJ Blindclown
Summary: For Lief, the journey is finally over.


Disclaimer: I don't own it, Emily Rodda does.

The tongs were heavy in Daphid's hand. He put them down beside the horseshoe he had just completed, and then walked out to the forge yard, where the sun was just beginning to set. The air was cool on his face, but still he felt as though he was gripped by a fever. He knew as well as any of the people in the house what had just happened. He had known that it would happen like this for three days now. The knowledge had come to him in a dream, but he had told no one about it; not even his wife.

Daphid leaned his tired back on the fence that surrounded the forge, knowing that he would have little time for resting from now on. Soon, they would come for him, or at least, one of them would. He only hoped that standing here would delay the moment for a little longer. Despite what Lief had said to him only days earlier, Daphid knew that he was still not ready for this.

Daphid knew his hopes were in vane as soon as he heard the footsteps coming toward him. Dimly, he realised that they were not coming from the direction of the house as he had expected. Instead, they were coming from the city. He heard the gates swing open, and someone making his or her way along the fence toward him. The figure stopped just in front of him, seeming to know that he would not want them to come too close just now. Finally, the figure spoke.

"Daphid…" The familiar voice trembled as it said his name.

"You must go in there," it continued. "You know how she needs you right now, you know she won't do it without you, and Jasmine…" The voice broke off with a choked sob.

"I would not know what to say to them, Joseph." Daphid said softly. "Especially Anna."

"If it were me," Joseph began, "I would say nothing. Just go in there and stand beside her as she puts it on."

Daphid knew that arguing with Joseph was pointless now. Whether he was ready or not, Joseph was right.

Leaving Joseph standing by the fence, Daphid made his way back into the small house. He knew, without being told, that all of them were there, apart from the children, who had been taken to the palace earlier that day.

Thank heavens you are here, Daphid," The voice belonged to Jarred. "We cannot get her to move, she won't let him go.""

Daphid allowed himself to be lead into the small bedroom that the king and queen had shared for all of their married life. They were both there, lying on the bed. Anna was on Jasmine's other side, holding her hand and speaking softly to her.

"Come now, Mama," she was saying. "None of us want this, but you know that this is what must be done. I need to take the belt from him, and I can't do that while you're holding him like that…" Daphid heard his wife's voice trail away, as though she had run out of arguments. Jasmine had a way of doing that, even when she was prostrate with grief.

Cautiously, Daphid approached the bed and knelt beside his wife, taking her other hand in his. Now, he knew why he was needed.

"Jasmine," he whispered, holding back his own tears. He knew that now was not his time to cry. Certainly, he and Lief had shared a bond, but it was nothing compared to the bond that Lief had shared with Jasmine.

Jasmine, who had found him in the forests of silence long ago, lying there as helpless as a newborn babe, begging her to help him. Jasmine, who had joined him on their quest to restore the belt of Deltora, and fought by his side ever since. Jasmine, who had agreed to be by his side always when she became his queen. But now, Jasmine needed to let him go.

"You must do this for all you have worked for," Daphid said. "If Anna does not take the belt now, everything could fall apart."

"He is right, Mama," Endon put in. "Father needs you to do this."

Daphid had heard many stories over the years about how brave Jasmine was, but even he marvelled at her courage when he felt her remove herself from beside Lief's still warm body. He and Anna quickly moved aside to allow her room to climb off the bed.

Jasmine kissed her husband's cheek one last time, before standing up shakily. Daphid took her arm, and lead her to an armchair in the corner of the room, sitting her down.

"Jarred, Endon, help me." Anna was saying. The moment was coming. Jarred and Endon were lifting their father's body into a sitting position, and Anna was removing the belt from his waste.

But Jasmine had stood back up again, pulling something from the seat of the chair on which Daphid had just sat her down.

"I need to put his cloak back on him." These were the first words that Jasmine had spoken since Lief's spirit left them. "His mother made it for him, he would want it with him now."

"We will do that when we dress him." Jarred told his mother.

"No!" There were tears running down Jasmine's face, and she was pushing passed her children in an effort to reach her husband. "I took it from him when I first met him; I must return it to him now, now that he is…" She trailed off, too upset to say any more.

The belt of Deltora was in Anna's hands now. Soon, she would be queen, and Daphid would be king. This prospect had been the source of Daphid's anxiety since Lief's health had begun to decline, but now, it did not seem important. Or at least, not as important as how Jasmine was feeling. Thankfully, Anna also seemed to know this.

"Jarred, Endon, Dress him," she ordered. "I will put on the belt in the living room."

Without waiting for an answer, Anna left the bedroom. Daphid followed her. For a moment, the two of them stood in the middle of the living room. Then Anna clasped the belt around her waist, and Daphid heard a crackling sound as the belt Shon for his wife.

There were very few times in his life when Daphid wished that he could regain his sight. Most of the time, his blindness was but a minor inconvenience. But at that moment, as the gems in the belt lit up the room, he would have given anything to have seen it. Lief had once tried to describe it to him, but even he had found it difficult to articulate, and he had always been so good with his words.

As he remembered Lief's voice speaking to him of the gems and all their powers, Daphid finally let himself cry. The belt shining for Anna meant that Lief was truly gone, and he knew that learning to live without him would be the most difficult adjustment for all of them.

"We should go back in there," Anna said, taking his hand. "They will need our help."

Daphid allowed himself to be lead back into the room where Jarred and Endon had finished dressing their father for burial. They were now helping Jasmine to put his cloak on him.

"There." Endon said quietly as Jasmine tied the fastenings and straightened. "You've returned it to him now."

All of them knew that soon, a troop of guards would arrive to escort the family to the palace. But for now, they would stay with Lief, each of them lost in his or her own memories of him.

As well as the cloak that Lief's mother had made for him, Lief would also be buried with the sword that had been forged for him by his father, for although it was the end of Lief's journey in this life, everyone in the room knew that soon, he would begin another. Lief of Del was never happy unless he was on some sort of adventure.


End file.
